5 Proud Boys sue US government over Jan. 6 prosecutions

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Five members of the Proud Boys, a far-right militant group, claim their constitutional rights were violated when they were prosecuted for their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to a lawsuit filed Friday.

The lawsuit was filed in Orlando federal court by former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean and Dominic Pezzola. It seeks unspecified compensatory damages plus 6% interest and $100 million plus interest in punitive damages.

“There was hostages in this country,” Tarrio said during a news conference Friday afternoon. “It's not about any other country today, and that's why this lawsuit is so important to bring back law and order into our system.”

The lawsuit claims the men were arrested with insufficient probable cause and that government agents later “found” fake incriminating evidence. They also claim they were held for years in pretrial detention, often in solitary confinement.

“The Plaintiffs themselves did not obstruct the proceedings at the Capitol, destroy government property, resist arrest, conspire to impede the police, or participate in civil disorder, nor did they plan for or order anyone else to do so," the lawsuit said.

Tarrio, Biggs, Rehl and Nordean were all convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes for their participation in the Capitol riot that sought to stop Congress from certifying former U.S. President Joe Biden’s win over President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Pezzola was acquitted on the conspiracy charge but convicted of stealing a police officer's riot shield and using it to smash a window.

After returning to office earlier this year, Trump granted pardons to almost all of the more than 1,500 people who stormed the Capitol. While Tarrio received a pardon, the other four plaintiffs had their sentences commuted. The lawsuit said all four applied for pardons on May 13.

The U.S. Justice Department didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.